Edward was the only child in his family to be born in England. His mother had gone there in 1817 to visit her family taking with her his sister Ursula, his father joined them later. Amongst other family reunions that year, there was a gathering at Margate in April when Ursula was christened for the second time (she had already been baptised in Jamaica) — Ursula's grandfather, Dr Edward Bancroft, and his unmarried daughters Maria and Catherine lived in the town making it easy for them to attend. Ursula's uncle, the Revd George Augustus Lamb, D.D., then Rector of Iden, performed the rites and became her godfather. ³
   
Some months later in early October 1817, Edward's father had to return to Jamaica to take up a new appointment as Deputy Inspector of Hospitals but Edward's birth was so imminent that his mother and two year old sister stayed behind and he was born on October 22nd in Alfred Place, London.⁴ He was duly baptised just before Christmas that year with the forenames Edward Nathaniel and the following December, his mother took him and his sister back to Jamaica. 15 or so years later, he elected to be baptised again, on this occasion with the forenames Edward James; a change possibly brought about by a growing schism between him and his father.⁵

No public records have been found that give any information about Edward's life following his second baptism or, indeed, any interaction with his family. However, his niece, Helena O'Flanagan, writes of him, "Edward whose desire to be a sailor was opposed by his father, ran away to sea twice - & returned twice - was secretly sheltered by his Sisters & an old butler. He left home again after which no definite news ever reached the family. Rumour said he was killed in the Crimean War - another that he married & was father of the famous actor Squire Bancroft, who certainly did resemble our Bancrofts." Another niece, Edith Bancroft, simply records, "Ran away to sea & died in Spain while serving with the foreign Legion".⁶
  
It seems very probable that Edward's "running away to sea" did take place - Kingston's Port Royal Harbour was a short step from East Street were the Bancroft family lived - but it seems more likely that Edith Bancroft's note that he "died in Spain while serving with the foreign Legion"⁷ is the correct story about his fate given the events that took place there during the 1830s.

It would have been quite possible in the mid-1830s for Edward to have served with a "Foreign Legion" in Spain but this would have been the "British Auxiliary Legion", as it was called, that was raised by the British Government to assist the Spanish Government in the summer of 1835. His uncle, Thomas Hoseason (1807-1841), signed on to serve with it and may have inspired Edward to do so too.

The British Auxiliary Legion fought in the first Carlist War (1833-1840) that followed the death of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Spain at that time was divided into two factions, the Cristinos (or Isabelinos) representing the interests of Queen Regent Cristina and her infant daughter Isabel II, and the Carlists who supported Don Carlos, the brother of the late King and the pretender to the throne. After six years of bloody conflict Don Carlos fled to France leaving the remnants of his army to soldier on for a few more months before many of them too sought refuge in France and the conflict petered out.

During this war, several battalions of the British Auxiliary Legion (some 10,000 men) supported the Cristinos. The British, who were led by Colonel George De Lacy Evans, fought in several successful engagements and contributed considerably to the Cristinos eventual success.

Most of the volunteers who joined the British Auxiliary Legion arrived in Spain towards the end August 1835 and having signed on for a period of two years, served until July 1837 before returning home. Given Edward's lack of contact with anyone in the family over the years, it seems very likely that Edith Bancroft's note about him is correct.

Edward was not the only British volunteer to die in Spain, c. 2500 of them did not survive. Some were killed in action, some died from their wounds, others were shot after being taken prisoner by the Carlists. The rest, said to be at least half of all the casualties, perished as a result of disease, principally typhus, and malnutrition. ^{8 9}